Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Chris Columbus Is Game to "Revisit" Gremlins, as Long as They Are Muppets

If you got excited about the recent rumor that an all-new Gremlins movie was being developed for release in stereoscopic 3-D, then prepare to be disappointed. It now appears that "Gremlins 3-D" is far less of a sure thing than 3-D–centric MarketSaw reported it to be several weeks ago.

While out promoting his new movie, Percy Jackson and the Oympians: The Lightning Thief, director Chris Columbus, who wrote the original Gremlins for producer Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, was asked to comment on the rumor, and he told ComingSoon that he didn't know anything about a new movie being developed.

I spoke to Steven Spielberg a couple days ago and said, "You know, I've been reading on the internet about this Gremlins 3-D," and no one's approached him either, so I don't know if that's really true.

Columbus added that "it would be fun to go back and revisit" the property, but that using CGI to animate the gremlins would not do the little guys justice.

Something like Gremlins, which is a movie I really like, I think it's impossible to recreate in a CGI environment. I think it will inevitably lose some of its charm. Those are edgy Muppets in a sense and you don't want to lose that sense of anarchy that those gremlins had, because behind the scenes are 25 puppeteers making them to come to life.

• Gremlins
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch

3-D Gremlins in the Works?

According to MarketSaw, a blog devoted to 3-D movies, Gremlins is the latest '80s franchise returning to the big screen, following in the footsteps of Tron: Legacy and the long-in-development Ghostbusters III.

I have very good information from a top source that tells me another GREMLINS movie is coming to the silver screens and it will be in stereoscopic 3D! It is in the early stages with still lots of hurdles to pass, but it is being developed. This is not a 3D conversion of the original to be clear.

Among the details still not known: Will Gremlins be rendered as CGI or use puppets, as in the original movies? Will director Joe Dante will be involved? And, perhaps most important, WHY?

• Gremlins
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch
• Joe Dante